In a single extraordinary year — 1989 — communism collapsed across Eastern Europe and the Berlin Wall fell. The decisive change came not from a Western push but from within: a Soviet leader who chose not to send the tanks.
Gorbachev's reforms
Facing economic stagnation, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev launched two reforms:
- Glasnost ("openness") — greater freedom of expression and criticism.
- Perestroika ("restructuring") — economic and political reform.
Most decisively, he abandoned the Brezhnev Doctrine — signalling that the USSR would not intervene to prop up the satellite regimes. The pillar holding up Soviet control was removed.
The revolutions of 1989
Once it was clear the tanks would not come, reform swept the bloc:
- Poland — Solidarity won partially free elections, forming the first non-communist government in the bloc.
- Hungary — opened its border with Austria, tearing a hole in the Iron Curtain.
- The Berlin Wall fell on 9 November 1989 — a largely peaceful, popular collapse, captured in images of Germans celebrating atop the Wall.
Let's sort the causes of the collapse into internal and external/individual, then weigh them.
| Internal pressures | External / individual factors |
|---|---|
| Economic stagnation in the bloc | Gorbachev's reforms and choices |
| Popular discontent; Solidarity | Abandonment of the Brezhnev Doctrine |
| Loss of regime legitimacy | Western pressure; the arms race |
Discuss: was the collapse of communism primarily caused from within the bloc or from above (Gorbachev)? Build a class judgement with a reason.
Q1. Define glasnost and perestroika.
Q2. Explain why Gorbachev's abandonment of the Brezhnev Doctrine was so significant for Eastern Europe.
Q3. "Communism in Eastern Europe collapsed from within rather than because of Gorbachev." To what extent do you agree? Support your answer with evidence.